BP results predicted

Top administrators of three key Louisiana parishes contend there were no surprises in a final investigative report completed last Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement in reference to the deadly BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil release on April 20, 2010.

“Quite frankly, there are no surprises in it,” Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph said of an 18-page summary and 20-page recommendation document that basically called for more research into regulatory requirements and policies.

“After having followed every aspect of the Deepwater Horizon incident in great detail since the explosion, there is not much in the report that surprises me,” Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet added. “The important aspect, in my opinion, is that there were shortcuts and procedures that were not followed that caused a great loss of life and great damage to our environment.”

“This report validates BP’s terrible track record,” Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said. “They must remain accountable until our families that have been destroyed by this disaster are made whole again and our coast is returned to the natural resource we can rely on.”

Comprised as two volumes, in which the names of key witnesses have been blacked out 27 times, the report covers investigation details of the conditions and circumstances that may have influenced response and reaction in relation to the blast that led to the worst oil spill in North American history.

The report’s first volume includes findings on causes, both direct and contributing, of the Macondo blowout and fire that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon. Details collected during the investigation, which was initiated within a month after the blast that killed 11 men and injured 17 others, concludes that BP, Transocean and Haliburton violated several federal offshore safety regulations.

In the second volume, federal investigators make recommendations “for the continued improvement of safety of offshore operations.”

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon incident, BOEMRE launched the most aggressive collection of reforms and requirements for the oil and gas industry in U.S. history. It was an action that has not set well with business leaders who contend that although they welcome an opportunity to create safer and environmentally balanced workplaces, federal reaction to the BP disaster has been one of overkill and has actually harmed their industry.

In the investigative report, the U.S. Coast Guard received a total of 282 comments on a variety of problems ranging from BP design issues related to the explosion and fire and related to maintenance of electrical equipment. Statements from Transocean employees revealed that they had not been properly trained to use gas alarm and shutdown systems on the Deepwater Horizon.

Comments included chronological aspects of the event from the initial blast until the well and structure had been completely contained.

The report’s bottom line designated a lack of proper training and an attitude of taking shortcuts as having led to conditions that made an already bad situation worse.

While the BOEMRE section of the report was highly critical of those involved with the operation of the Deepwater Horizon, the Coast Guard noted instances of heroic acts and cooperative efforts among 115 surviving crewmembers.

Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. included in his section of the report praised rescue efforts made by Capt. Alwin Landry and the crew of the cargo ship Damon B. Bankston.

While the report specified procedures taken by investigators looking into actions during the BP disaster, documented comments made by witnesses and listed challenges encountered in responding to the explosion and fire, it did not specify causes for the accident or offer recommendations in relation to lessons learned.

“From the beginning, we have struggled to get BP to do the right thing in regards to the cleanup process,” Nungesser said. “Today there remains much work to be done and the damages from the oil spill remain a daily factor our coastal residents deal with.”

“This was an isolated incident and the decisions made at the time caused the problem,” Randolph added. “If any of the companies were taking shortcuts and decisions were based on deceit they certainly are not now.”

“We have all learned from this incident and there is not a company drilling that should not have learned from this disaster,” Claudet said. “We now need to move forward with drilling in the Gulf to provide jobs for our people and to assist in our energy problems.”